. when you look at the major party candidates and this year's cycle, what's missing in the debate and the dialogue? and what do you wring to the table -- what do you bring to the table? >> guest: well, how about truth for starters. the notion that both obama and romney are arguing over who's going to spend more money on medicare when we need to have a raging debate and discussion in this country on how we slash medicare spending because if we don't, um, i believe that we're going to find ourselves in the midst of a monetary collapse as a result of continuing to borrow and spend money to the tune of 43 cents out of every dollar that we spend. >> host: so what are you seeing out there on that particular issue? what's your prescription, pardon the expression. >> guest: well, i oversaw the reform of medicaid in new mexico when i was governor of new mexico. we took it from a fee-for-service model to a managed care model. we saved hundreds of millions of dollars, we set up better health care networks for the poor in new mexico. i believe if the federal government would have block grante

think the obama campaign going in to the debates, doesn't the burden here. but probably would, you know, should talk about what the next four years will be like, and i expect that that will happy during the debate. but i said that here. because i'm talking tactically here. the challenger has the burden. we have a history with barack obama. we have a sense what he's done. we have a sense what he's like and what he will do. when you're the challenger, you have to say why you will be cimpt. and obama did that in 2008, and that's the thing that romney is going have -- i think will be need to do. we are evaluating one of the president as the champion, so to speak in boxing terms. we are evaluating one of the challenger. if you don't play the role of the challenge netter minds of people, well, then it's hard to imagine you'll play the role of the champ well. that's my own sort of two cents on that. >> we all know that the words we use are very important. on the campaign that you worked on, how did the candidate choose which keywords or catch phases he wanted to use? and to what degree wa

president, then you owe the american people the truth. >> some felt mr. obama owed them a better debate. >> he looked like he was tired, drained. >> i think he didn't have practice. >> you're more worried that obama might lose now? >> no, not really. >> obama strategists hint the boss learned a lesson. >> he'll review it, if he wants to make some changes in the next debate, he'll do so. >> romney strategists claim all the change about their guy was his audience. >> people, i think saw for the first time, a lot of people, not in a 30 second attack ad or in a 12 second snip et on the news, but got to hear him indirectly. >> romney's hoping the debate strengthens his poll numbers in battleground states. tomorrow there's a new factor, a jobs report expected to help president obama by showing fewer layoffs. in denver, colorado, i'm steve handlesman, nbc bay area news. now for a look at how social media reacted to last night's debate. let's go to business and tech editor scott budman. >> thank you very much. last night wasn't just about which candidate won, it was also about the domina

debate. he can do well by standing on the stage against barack obama. but at the end of the day, you're going to have three debates but still have a lot of other things happening in the campaign and obama has a structural advantage in this race. he's been ahead and romney's got to try and catch up with him and i don't think the debates will do it for him. >> a take us if you will, behind the curtain, in the kerry campaign at this point, you were down about six points nationally which is roughly the margin where mitt romney finds himself down at this point. what's the mood inside the campaign? does it become hard to keep your spirits up? is there a danger of having sort of a gloomy mood per vads the campaign itself? >> that's always a danger and i think one of the great things that the obama campaign had four years ago is they didn't pay a lot of attention to all of this. they weren't watching all of these cable news shows and paying attention to the chattering class. the romney campaign is being buried by the media, not just the liberal media, but every media. look at all the po

people thought this week president obama wouldvy strong debate performance that would be erased by a weak jobs number, but it's the opposite. the jobs report is in easing concern about obama's weak debate. nate silver said first day in while obama is is happy for everyone to talk about the economy because the numbers are better than expected with the unemployment rate dropping to 7.8%, a four-year low. exactly where it was when president obama took office. there was only a net gain of 114,000 jobs created last month. too low for sustained unemployment reduction. so something for both sides to like. the president has to be thrilled about this jobs numbers, though. it's a game changer unless it's not. the president is the out on the trail pushing it. >> as a nation we are moving forward again. we're moving forward. more people are getting jobs. now, every month reminds us that we've still got too many of our friends and neighbors looking for work. today's news certainly is not an excuse to talk down the economy to score a few political points. it's a reminder that this country has come

expectations. president obama has been practicing for the debates at the westin lake, las vegas, resort and spa. 17 miles from the las vegas strip. presidential debate veteran john kerry is participating in the mock debates, pretending to be a different patrician wealthy massachusetts politician mitt romney. yesterday, in las vegas, the president tried to lower expectations. >> i know folks in the media are speculating already on who's going to have the best zingers. >> you are! >> governor romney, he's a good debater. i'm just okay. >> reporter: a new poll shows the president enjoys advantages going into this debate. 66% say his policies have favored the middle class, while 57% think romney's, instead, would favor the wealthy. but the campaign sees some liabilities, as well. the president can get peevish when challenged. >> you're likable enough, hillary. >> reporter: his debate prep team is studying bedates from the last 20 or so years, focusing on unforced, stylistic errors, such as al gores sighs. the president is also quite verbose. when i asked him a two-part question in august, his answe

featured prominently in last night's presidential debate. governor romney talked about shifting people currently under the age of 55 to a voucher like program for health care when they reach age 65. president obama's affordable care act does not offer a truly long-term fix to medicare. so, what is your plan to keep medicare solid while not forcing seniors to fend for themselves? >> well, for me, medicare is not an esoteric debate. my mom who worked in the factories of new jersey, where char to get us into the middle class in the twilight of her life she was fighting alzheimer's. medicare was her health care security. they made a difference with her to live in dignity. that's why under the act on trent affordable care act we extended life until 2024. that's why we'll continue to look at the life of medicare as some of what we did it beginning to eliminate the waste, fraud and abuse. that is part of why we extend the life of medicare by stopping over payments to insurance companies prospectively and also maybe i don't know that warren buffett and bill gates made medicare. so maybe we hav

do as president is to apply the same principles. >> that's president obama from the debate this week on the role of government. now let's listen to his challenger, mitt romney, with his answer to that question. >> first, life and liberty. we have a responsibility to protect the life and liberty of our people and that means military second to none. i do not believe in cutting the military. i believe in maintaining the strength of america's military. second, in the line that says we are in doubt by our creator with rights i believe we must maintain our commitment to religious tolerance and freedom in this country. that statement also says that we are endowed by our creator with a right to pursue happiness as we choose. i interpret that as one, making sure those are less fortunate and can't care for themselves are cared for by one another. we're a nation that believes we're children of the same god and we care for those that have difficulties. those that are older and have problems and those that are disabled. we care for them and we look for innovation and all these things desired out

obama and mitt romney were out of the public eye today as they get ready for the first debate on wednesday. vice president in spoke in florida up for the second consecutive day. he blamed republicans and the bush should ministration for the deficit. >> by the times be rains were turned over to barack and me, they had doubled the national debt in eight years. >> today, paul ryan campaigned in new hampshire. the granite state has four electoral votes. but that could make a difference in the race that could come down to a handful of states. >> thank you for sending mitt romney to the white house and barack obama back to chicago. >> the campaign is shifting to a different stage this week with wednesday night's showdown between president obama ann romney. >> if you have taken a look at the history of debates, it is not about policies. is not about facts. it has changed because someone did badly or did well. >> both candidates are in intense prep sections. romney may have the most on the line. his campaign is looking at this as a chance for a game changer. >> one more note from the cam

a debate night that could change everything. jake leads us off. jake? >> reporter: diane, top obama campaign officials have been pouring over republican debate tapes, studying mitt romney. and according to one person familiar with the president's debate preparations, it has been exhausting work and the president is definitely out of practice, though, of course, the campaign has been trying to lower expectations. president obama has been practicing for the debates at the westin lake, las vegas, resort and spa. 17 miles from the las vegas strip. presidential debate veteran john kerry is participating in the mock debates, pretending to be a different patrician wealthy massachusetts politician mitt romney. yesterday, in las vegas, the president tried to lower expectations. >> i know folks in the media are speculating already on who's going to have the best zingers. >> you are! >> governor romney, he's a good debater. i'm just okay. >> reporter: a new poll shows the president enjoys advantages going into this debate. 66% say his policies have favored the middle class, while 57% think rom

alfred doblin. >> senator menendez, last night featured in the debate, governor romney talked to the shifting people currently under the age of 55 to a voucher like program for health care when they reach age 65. president obama's affordable care act doesn't offer a truly long-term fix to medicare. so what is your plan to keep medicare solid while not forcing seniors to fend for themselves? menendez: from the medicare is not an esoteric debate. my mom who worked in the factories of new jersey, worked really hard to get us into the middle-class in the triad of her life she was fighting alzheimer's. medicare was her health care security. it made a difference with her to live in the dignity she deserved. that's why under the affordable care act extended the life of medicare until 2024. and that is why we will continue to work to look at various proposals that will continue to extend the life of medicare. some of what we did is beginning to eliminate the waste, fraud and abuse. but as part of what extent of the life of medicare, by stopping over payments to insurance companies prospectiv

presidential debate. more on that in a bit. but we begin with potential trouble for the obama administration. word tonight that the white house had more warning we thought about the violence that resulted in death of four americans at the u.s. mission in libya last month, including the killing of the first u.s. ambassador since 1979. lawmakers say those in benghazi begged for security increases but were refused. here is catherine herridge. >> how secure was the consulate in benghazi before the assault on 9/11? republicans in a letter to secretary of state hillary clinton ad 12 incidents that show security was unstable, unraveling and pleas for help were rejected. the u.s. mission in libya made repeated requests for increased security in benghazi. the mission in libya, however, was denied the resources by officials in washington. >> what we saw was a pattern that made us question whether or not there was ever enough security and whether or not they heeded the warnings. >> committee chairman darrell issa is drawing attention to the r.p.g. attack in benghazi on june 11. >> the mo

cool image ahead of the critical first debate. president obama delivered one of theness campaign offices and dialed up volunteers as he compared debate prep to cramming for a final exam. >> it's a drag. [ laughter ] they are making me do my homework. >> back in washington, even more difficult verdict from the treasury department. the federal government added $1.3 trillion to the national debt over the fiscal year that ended just days ago. debt increase of just over $11,000 per household in only 12 months. stark numbers for a president already facing 8.1% unemployment. heading to a debate focused on the economy and domestic issues. >> how they can justify raising taxes to the middle class has been buried the last four years. >> dramatic admission today about the president's first term from vice president biden. which gave republicans some predebate ammunition. though he charged bush policies are to blame. >> by the time we were elected they had eight years doubled the national debt. debt clock. doubled it. in addition to that, they had the slowest job private job growth since worl

of the first presidential debate between governor romney of massachusetts and president obama. you see both men being greeted by their wives on stage. even this portion of the debate is negotiated ahead of time by the campaigns in terms of which members of their family will be joining them on stage. this is, these these are negotiated down to this level of detail. in terms of how the overall debate unfolded, i personally do not know who won this debate. i do feel that we saw this debate format die a very painful death on camera tonight. the contrast between the candidates was stylistic as much as substantive. president obama i think calm and basically explanatory tonight. governor romney, more hyper, and i don't mean that in a negative way, just sort of more amped, more assertive. and that manifests in a way that the debate format was just dismantled. the format and i think the moderator, with all due respect to mr. lehrer dismantled. this is one of those debates, you could predict the score more by time of possession in terms of who was speaking more. then you could by any other i

concludes tonight's debate. i would like to thank the candidates, representative shelley berkley and center dean heller for participating in tonight's debate. and i'd like to thank you for joining us. goodnight. >> this wednesday president obama and republican presidential candidate mitt romney meet at the university of denver for the first of three debates. watch and engage with c-span spoke to the white house coverage. >> up next we'll bring you another debate with the candidates vying to represent iowa's new fourth congressional district. then rivals in the pharmaceutical industry called for more cooperation in combating counterfeit prescription drugs. and later, live coverage with congressional watchers on congress' record in making its proceedings more open and transparent to the public. >> also today, journalists and communication analysts share their guidance on how best to watch the upcoming presidential debates. they will offer what's called a citizens guide for viewing and understanding the debates that begin later this week. posted by the national communication association, the f

. a format that neither of the candidates have experienced. president obama's last debate was against senator john mccain in the fall of 2008. while governor romney has had nearly two dozen debates during that gop primary. the obama campaign says the president's strategy is focused on shorter, crisper answers. the romney strategy, as reported in "the new york times" has the governor memorizing a series of zingers to try to hit the president with. let's bring in our "news nation" political panel for this monday. democratic strategist chris, national radio host michael, and also an msnbc contributor, and villa skype as you can tell from our shot there, steve, conservative radio show host. you have the visual disadvantage because you're skype. i'll let you start off first here. let me play what paul ryan, completely opposite of what chris christie said this sunday. his assessment of the debates. let's play ryan, please. >> i don't think one event is going to make or break this campaign. look, president obama's a very -- he's a very gifted speaker. this is mitt's first time on this kind o

needed a turn around. president obama came into debate ahead. with an estimated 60 million americans watching, moderator jim layrer asked can you put more people to work? romney would cut taxes and regulations on small business. >> my priority is jobs. so what i do is i bring down the tax rates. >> governor romney's proposal calls for a $5 trillion tax cut. the average middle class family with children would pay about $2,000 more. it is not possible to come up with enough deductions and loopholes that only affect individuals to avoid either raising the deficit or burdening the middle class. it's math. >> reporter: on medicare and social security,one agreement. >> neither the president nor are are i are proposing any changes. >> aarp has said that your plan would weaken medicare, substantially. >> romney fired back a a major debate moment that the president weakened the economy by his focus on health care. >> i don't know how the president could have come into office facing rising unploimt and spending energy and passion fighting for obama care. >> we did work on this alongside workin

oxford, mississippi, then senator obama preparing for his first presidential debate against john mccain. both candidates right now, mitt romney and barack obama, no doubt, very nervous. i'm nervous, just looking at that picture. diane? >> okay, jake. i will see you tonight for the big event. and i want to bring in co-anchor of "good morning america" and anchor of "this week," my co-anchor tonight, george stephanopoulos. such a night after this long road. what are these two men thinking right now? >> reporter: probably exactly the same thing. tonight, don't take the other guy's bait. play your game. but there is more pressure on mitt romney tonight. you look at the polls right now, he's behind nationally, probably behind even more in the battleground statements. he needs a circuit breaker and he probably has to do something that gives people that say right now they're voting for the president, to give him a second look. >> give all of us a viewer's guide to what they are prepped to do. >> reporter: watch for almost every time mitt romney gets a question, he will try to turn it back to pr

president obama and mitt romney prepare for tonight's crucial debate, our brand new poll numbers show where they stand. >>> midair mess. another incident of loose seats on an american airlines flight and now the company says it knows why. >>> and shock value. daredevil magician david blaine goes high voltage in his latest stunt. good morning, everyone, i'm lynn berry. those stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> and we're going to begin this morning with high stakes debate. all eyes turned to denver for tonight's first presidential debate of the 2012 race. and a new nbc/"wall street journal" poll finds president obama is hold on to his national lead. but not by very much. 49% of likely voters favor the president. while 46% prefer mitt romney. that's only a 3% edge for obama which is within the survey's margin of error. but when it comes to a pool of registered voter, the president widens his lead over romney by 7 points, 51% to 44%. now a national survey says the nation is headed into the right direction. both candidates took a break from their debate prep on tu

likely to watch the debate tonight. a majority, 51% to 29% think that president obama will do better than mitt romney. >>> rocker jon bon jovi is busy this week doing performances to support president obama. he has two appearances in iowa on friday. las vegas on saturday and on sunday he's going to perform at an obama fund raiser with stevie wonder and katie peri. this always sells. the web side bat lip reading is choosing paul ryan for its next victim after previous satires of president obama and mitt romney. they reworked a ryan video substituting different bizarre words as only bad lip reading could do. take a listen. >> i went into a starbucks building and everyone started collapsing. and i went to steve-o. he said he slipped into the future. he said ask about the special because it's doughnut day. >> that will never get old. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. >>> and now here's your "first look" at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow closed at 13,482 after losing 32 points yesterday. the s&p was up a point and the nasdaq gained six. taking a look at overs

] humana. >>> welcome back. barack obama and mitt romney are ready for their first presidential debate. that will be tomorrow night, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. polls show a close race. the nation ago average has obama leading romney 49-46. the economy is issue number one and whose plans are better for the middle class. to answer that we are holding our own debate right here on the kudlow report. we are joined by new jersey democratic congressman and jim gillmore to make the case for governor romney. there will be time to talk among your selves at my disgression. the first question is going to congressman big paskrel. 1.3% gdp 25 million people out of the workforce. mr. president, what is your solution to the prosperity and the recovery that continues to elude us? >> over the past 30 months we have had an increase in private sector jobs. but that is the direction we are going in. if you remember what happened before that, when the president raised his hand in january of 2009, we were losing 700 no,000 jobs a month. but the fact of the matter is we are going in the right direction now and we shou

years ago, michelle obama got so nervous in the debates, she didn't like to watch them. she'll be there tomorrow in the debate hall. we turn to david muir who is there. >> reporter: hey, jake. tonight, here are some key decisions made moments ago. a coin toss between the campaigns determining that president obama will be introduced first and will have the first question. governor romney will get the final argument. there was a toss which of the wives would be introduced first. i want to show the debate stage. both podiums. both candidates will stand with one another. that's why the romney team is concentrating on the answers and the body language. where was he earlier today? at chipotle. he's with rob port nman. if you were inside that debate prep room, what would you tell the governor? >> be honest. be straightforward. >> reporter: what do you tell him in the debate room? >> i say show him who you are. there's been bad press because of his comments about the 47% of the 49% that he doesn't care about. he does care about everyone. >> i would say use all the facts that you can and s

the truth. >> reporter: some felt mr. obama owed them a better debate. >> he looked like he was tired, drained. >> i think he didn't have the practice. >> you more worried obama might lose now? >> well, no, not really. >> reporter: obama strategists hint the boss learned a lesson. >> he'll review it and if he wants to make some changes in the next debate, he'll do so. >> reporter: romney strategists claim all that changed about their guy was the audience. >> i think people saw him for the first time, a lot of people, not in a 30-second attack ad or 12-second snippet on the news. but got to hear him directly. >> reporter: romney's hoping the debate strengthens his poll numbers in battleground states. tomorrow there's a new factor, a jobs report expected to help president obama, by showing fewer layoffs. live from denver, steve handelsman, news4. >>> more now on the continuing coverage of that first presidential debate. nbc news senior political editor mark murray joins us now with new analysis of last night's big debate. >> mark, instant polling and survey say they thought romney

debate will be divided into six timed segments of approximately 15 minutes each. president obama will get the first question, and mitt romney will get the last word. for the very latest, let's check in with nbc's steve handelsman live at the university of denver. good evening, steve. >> reporter: janelle, thanks. good evening from a suddenly blustery cold denver, where the gold tonight is political substance. when this debate gets started in less than an hour here at the university of denver, moderator jim lehrer will demand the studio audience not boo or hiss or applaud. no distractions, he'll say. so the voters, many, many millions watching from home, will get to concentrate on what these political competitors have to say. more than 60 million americans could watch tonight's debate. >> i've made up my mind. but i'd still like to see both of the candidates sweat a little bit. >> reporter: president obama looked relaxed this week. mitt romney too, but he knows he has to change perceptions tonight. more voters now see romney negatively than see him positively. and that loses elections.

disappointing debate. president obama accused republican challenger of mitt romney of being dishonest. >>> mitt romney will also be campaigning in virginia today. he's holding a coal country rally just days after accusing the obama administration of crushing the coal industry. meantime romney is clarifying his controversial 47% comments. now he says he was completely wrong when he said half of americans are victims independent on the government. now both mitt romney and president obama will be keeping a close eye on the jobless report which is due to be released in about an hour from now. 115,000 jobs were added. they say that will increase the unemployment rate to 8.2%. now that some discouraging job seekers are returning to look for jobs. >>> the film that di pickets the osama bin laden man hunt is set to debut in two days. the new film is distributed by the weinstein company. harvey weinstein is a prominent fundraiser for the obama campaign. they say the timing is not to be believed political. >>> skyrocketing gas places may not come down any time soon. the fire at the chevron refi

. >> reporter: the pressure was on mitt romney who needed a turn around. president obama came into the debate ahead in every battleground state. with an estimated 60 million americans watching on tv, cable and the web, moderator jim leherer asked can you put more people to work? >> the answer is, yes, we can help. >> reporter: romney would cut taxes and regulations on small business. >> my priority is jobs, and so what i do is i bring down the tax rates. >> governor romney's proposal that he's been promoting for 18 months calls for a $5 trillion tax cut. >> reporter: which the president claimed would help the rich at others' expense. >> the average middle class family with young children would pay $2,000 more. >> everything he said about my tax plan is not accurate. >> it is not possible to come up with enough tax cuts to avoid either raising the deficit or burdening the middle class. it's math. it's arithmetic. >> reporter: on medicare and social security one agreement. >> neither the president nor i are proposing any changes for any current retirees or near retirees. >> reporter: in ten yea

events at a group called technology for obama will hold a debate party. >>> they will challenging california's new law to ban therapy that tries to turn gay or lesbians straight. they are asking them to rule the law unconstitutional. governor brown signed the law and it is scheduled to go in effect january 1st. >>> they are talking about suzy the dog. she ran out in front of a car, he slammed on his breaks thinking he avoided hitting her and somebody flagged him down saying there is a dog sticking out the grill of your car. animal control officers came, pulled her out of the grill, she was in shock but alive. that is when susie's story came to the news. >> i have no idea how she made it without getting killed. it is just amazing. >> yes, it is amazing, she survived, she only had a concussion and a chipped tooth and now they call her the miracle dog. >> that is quite a story. 5:17 is the time. we have a look at traffic, here is more. >>> dave, pam, we are off to a decent start. in the 4:30 hour, things have started. this is a look at 880 westbound and traffic is moving along well h

, barack obama and john mccain faced off in a first debate that was nearly canceled when the republican suspended his campaign because of the meltdown on wall street. the day of their second debate, the stock market dropped 500 points. >> now the troubles are spreading. the market took another dive today, and there are some big names now involved. >> reporter: the day of the third debate, the stock market dropped over 300 points. >> fear that the country could be entering in one of the most serious recessions in decades, led by wall street's 700-point sell-off. >> now four years later, the president who faced john mccain in those debates and beat him faces his new republican challenger for the first time. >> i'm looking forward to head to head. >> an mirror image of '08, a campaign is chaotic mash. new issues, new controversies, every day. the polls are bad for romney and good for obama in the swing states. but the national numbers are as tight as they get. the primaries are over, the conventions are over, but the debates, the home stretch, starts right now. >>> all right. th

? how does he deal with that in the debate for an hour and a half? so will obama go after the guy, not play defense, not finesse the guy, knock him out and end this thing. and will the other guy be able to deal with the unexpected, which perhaps will be obama coming after him, not him coming after obama. >> chris, when you talk about the president potentially going after mitt romney, do you mean in terms of stylistic aggression, or do you means in terms of trying to nail him as a flip-flopper or going really aggressively against his policies. which do you mean? >> i would say this. you are promising something new. you keep saying i've got something new. everything you've said sounds like what we got rid of because we had a disaster. as you showed with this excellent opening tonight, we came out of disaster because of those policies. tell me how you're going to be different than w. say the word "w.," you don't even want to say that word. admit where you came from. and then force him to get out there on the cliff and say, i'm going to get rid of the homeowner deduction, get rid of the ch

. >>> now we turn to countdown to the first big debate. 24 hours until the candidates face each other on the stage. president barack obama and governor mitt romney both in marathon training sessions. their wives and running mates carrying the banners today with mixed results. 35 days to go. "your voice, your vote." our political team is back. abc's jake tapper and abc's david muir inside the debate hall right now. covering it all. jake starts us off. >> reporter: good evening, diane. the two candidates largely kept to themselves today. leaving the hard work of campaigning to their surrogates. who hit the campaign trail in a fever pitch. not always staying on message. in battleground state north carolina, the vice president tried to assail the republican ticket, but he did so in way that brought fire upon himself. >> how they can justify raising taxes on the middle class that's been buried the last four years. >> reporter: paul ryan pounced. >> vice president biden, just today, said that the middle class over the last four years has been, quote, buried. we agree. that means we need to

-obama debate. >> today mitt romney traveled from boston to colorado where the debate will be held as a major player in romney's fund raiser confirmed to fox business that a few new york donors have backed away from financial commitments to the romney campaign and instead said they will spend their money to help the republicans hold on to the house of represents and pick up seats in the senate. the debates will be very important, said one person with knowledge of the matter. if romney does well, that money could come back. >>> new jersey's governor, chris christie the current front runner for the presidential nomination 2016 has decided his job is to state the obvious. >> it's a huge night. we've had a bad couple of weeks and we want to turn this around and if you want to turn it around you've got to perform on the stage. they try to say the president is not that good a debater or mitt romney is a little scared of the president. those are the professional consultants and politicians who get paid to spin you guys. that's not what my job is. it's a big night. >> on sunday, chris christie

unprofessional, in that sense. >> reporter: do you think it would have helped president obama if the debate commission would have allowed him to use the teleprompter? >> i didn't know he was unable to use the teleprompter. i think it would have gone smoother for him. that's why they have speech writers. >> reporter: do you think he should have been allowed to use it? >> i think they all this should. how do you memorize a 90-minute debate. >> reporter: why do you think the debate commission didn't allow obama to use a teleprompter? >> i don't know why. >> reporter: was that fair? >> i don't think it was fair. i don't think, you know, he got enough opportunity to speak at times. they would keep trying to cut him short. >> i think he was holding back a little bit. >> reporter: holding back? why do you think he used the strategy to hold back and let rom recommend look so good? >> because this is only the first debate and he has to be careful what he says. so... >> reporter: do you think it was fair for the debate commission to not let president obama use a teleprompter? >> no. i mean, you could

romney was seven months ago and the last debate that barack obama had was four years ago. and the people he's used to sparring with are reporters. >> how did he prepare? how did the president prepare for this? >> we got 45 minutes in before we got a ryan budget mentioned. mitt romney made the choice to put ryan on the ticket. when we look at where the polls started to separate before the convention, right around when ryan was put on the ticket. when do the numbers on medicare and the polling start to go upside down for the republicans? when ryan is put on the ticket. yet we get 45 minutes through the debate before paul ryan is mentioned. he's the incarnation of the modern republican party which will inherit the power that you give to mitt romney since they will be governing from the house most likely. that is the key thing to remind people there is a governing of the republican party that already exists. it's like nailing gel oto the wall. no. you are tied to an actual institutional govern body which actually has a record, which actually is going to propose and vote for things tha

registered voters who watched the debate chose mr. romney as the winner while 25% chose mr. obama. a cbs snap poll showed that 45% identified mitt romney while 22% said barack obama won and 32% called it a tie. the candidates tangled over taxes and figures of cuts or increases. andrea mitchell looked into the truth behind the rhetoric of both candidates. >> let me repeat what i said. i'm not in favor of a $5 trillion tax cut. that's not my plan. my plan is not to put in place any tax cut that will add to the deficit. >> reporter: romney has proposed making the bush tax cuts permanent for all tax levels and then cutting all rates an additional 20%. he would repeal the alternative minimum tax and repeal the estate tax. they said mitt romney's tax plan would cost $4.8 trillion over ten years. he said his plan would be paid for but to pay for those he would have to close loopholes and get rid of some tax deductions, he said, and tax credits, but he's repeatedly refused to say which deductions he would get rid of saying he would work with congress to make those decisions. also president o

such a disastrous debate for obama. i'll play a quick clip here, and this is a jumping-off point to talk about what he needs to do in the next debates to avoid a repeat of this. let's play a clip of an opening romney gave him that he completely missed. >> i'm not looking to cut massive taxes and reduce the revenues going to the government. my number one principle is there's no tax cut that adds to the deficit. i want to underline that. virtually everything you said about my tax plan is inaccurate. so if the tax plan he described were a tax plan i was asked to support, i'd say absolutely not. i'm not looking for 5i trillion tax cut. i won't put in a place a tax cut that adds to the deficit. i'm not in favor of a $5 trillion tax cut. that's not my plan. >> that's three different moments during this debate when mitt romney noticed the bump in the set for obama. what he's saying there is he's arguing against math. the idea that you can cut faxes 20%, can you tell taxes for everybody and it's deficit neutral and faye for it by closing unspecified loop moles and dealing with deductions. t